Tori Amos

TORI AMOS Night of Hunters CD + DVD 4779429

This is the album she was destined, by early apprenticeship and spiritual affinity, to record . . . The story is animated by characters and motifs that any Amos fan will recognize as characteristic: a shapeshifter; ancient poets, battling in a ring of trees; a Star Whisperer; a Fire Muse . . . the music deeply satisfies . . . Amos never sounds stiff or somber. "Night of Hunters" is ambitious, but it's also personal ż not in the confessional sense, but musically.

Record Review /
Ann Powers,
NPR (Washington) / 11. September 2011

Thankfully, her "classical song cycle" necessitates sonic ambition as well: that Amos can weave her own songs so deftly into variations on classical pieces is testament to her talent, and the piano/strings/woodwind arrangements of "Night of Hunters" frequently sound as lovely as earlier orchestral experiments such as "Yes, Anastasia". The heart-pounding drama of opener "Shattering Sea" even nears that career highlight's intensity.

With her first album for classical label Deutsche Grammophon, an all-acoustic affair, she has rediscovered [her dark muse] triumphantly . . . these graceful, imaginative, allacoustic songs threaten to give classical crossover a good name. Amos, meanwhile, deserves a reappraisal.

Record Review /
Richard Godwin,
Evening Standard / 16. September 2011

Featuring her 10-year-old daughter on vocals it is, as you might expect from Ms Amos, complex, accomplished and according to many critics her finest work in a decade. You won't find any disagreement with that here.

Tori Amos has established herself as an unmistakable musical presence with a distinctive voice, her powerful piano playing and a penchant for lyrics that can be a bit, well, confounding. "Night of Hunters" is packed with those piercing Amos vocals, her dominating piano and a fair share of head-scratching lyrics, this time around a classically inspired theme of reinvention . . . It's a beautifully composed album that highlights Amos' classical training and her fierce intensity as a musician and songwriter.

Amos's latest album sees her spinning a fairytale as only she can . . . English for a bona fide American eccentric, yet mesmeric and charged with a pristine eroticism . . . It is intensely personal, engaging the listener in one-to-one orchestral combat as befits a record on a classical label . . . This is a real record by a real artist, a rare thing in this age of disposable culture.

Record Review /
Colin Somerville,
Scotsman / 20. September 2011

. . . Amos is just about the only artist in pop music who might even dare anything so presumably lofty. Impressive.

. . . her most skillful (and perhaps most complex) concept album to date . . . "Night of Hunters" is a modern work . . . fans of her more recent work will find the dizzying narratives and familiar characters that have since become the singer-songwriter's preference. The playing is distinctively Amos, with towering pianos guiding the way through all turns. Her voice is of course as singular as it has ever been . . .

Record Review /
Ricardo Baca,
Denver Post / 20. September 2011

. . . [the album] perfectly marries her classical and pop/rock artistry. The unique beauty of the album makes it even more troubling to think that it might never have been created . . . Amos enlisted an amazing group of talent with which to work on the album . . .

Record Review /
Nancy Dunham,
Washington Examiner / 04. December 2011

Genuine, passionate, powerful ż that's as much of an introduction as Tori Amos needs. But for the past two decades, she's introduced her fans to plenty. She helped turn the piano into a rock instrument, showed that she can create big hits in different genres and challenged every critic who ever tried to put her in a box. And her 12th studio album, Night of Hunters, is no different . . . Amos' ability to connect with her audience is undeniable.

Record Review /
NPR (Washington) / 21. December 2011

A classically trained pianist, Amos makes a graceful arrival in the world of art music with this hybrid work . . . Granados, Alkan, Chopin, Bach, Scarlatti and others serve as the starting-off point and are beautifully integrated into Amos's unique songwriting style . . . Amos forgoes any attempt at sounding like a classically trained singer, which, when juxtaposed with the "classical" style of her pianism, adds intrigue and complexity to these adventurous songs . . . [Kelsey Dobyn's] clear, light soprano blends with and tumbles beautifully over the composer's own to haunting effect . . . Amos and company wade through the crosscurrents of this cycle with a finesse and assurance that elude most classical crossover artists when "slumming it" in the world of pop. Her trust in this music is implicit and it shows . . . Amos weaves her tale into this aural tapestry so well that by the time she reaches the delicate final song . . . her composition stands entirely on its own . . . in "Edge of the moon" Amos's naturally wistful voice captures the simple, melancholy beauty of Bach's famous Siciliano.